Robert Bleichsteiner

Robert Bleichsteiner (6 January 1891 – 10 April 1954) was an Austrian Ethnologist.

Bleichsteiner was born in Mariahilf and attended the local grammar school from 1901 to 1909. He went on to study history, geography, ethnography and Oriental languages at the University of Vienna. He was awarded his doctorate in 1914 and became librarian of the Research Institute for East and Orient, becoming a full member in 1917. In 1922 Bleichsteiner habilitated at the University of Caucasian languages. From 1921 he started worked as a volunteer in the ethnographic department of the Natural History Museum, now the Museum of Ethnology, Vienna, being appointed scientific officer in 1926 supervising the Asia Unit. In 1929 he joined Otto Neurath of the Gesellschafts- und Wirtschaftsmuseum in the production of Gesellschaft und Wirtschaft (1930).

After the Second World War he became director of the museum in 1945 and an associate professor in 1947. After his death Bleichsteiner was buried in the Stadlauer cemetery. In 1957 Lead Höchst One road was in Vienna- favorites named after him.

He married Alice in 1939.

As an ethnologist Bleichsteiner developed a scientific approach to Central Asia, Siberia and the Caucasus including the languages of theses region. Much of his work was around Georgia and the Georgian language translating Georgian literature into German.

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